Obesity is an
epidemic in the United States, and weight loss is key component to overcoming
the problem. However, the risk of falling and injury in the obese population
may hinder their engagement in the amount and intensity of physical activity
needed to lose weight. The risks of falling and injury have been attributed to
differences in temporospatial walking parameters, musculoskeletal structure,
and cognitive processing: all of which affect the obese population’s ability to
adapt while walking. We have proposed that an intervention using motor learning
principles with an implicit learning task could improve the adaptive abilities
of obese individuals during movement and thus, allow for safer participation in
physical activity during weight loss interventions.

Howard, D.V. and How-ard, J.H. (2001) When it does hurt to try: Adult age differences in the effects of instructions on implicit pattern learning. Psy-chonomic Bulletin & Review, 8, 798-805. doi:10.3758/BF03196220